Background: All diseases concerning bone destruction such as osteoporosis and periodontal diseases share common pattern in which the osteoclast cells are absolutely responsible for bone resorption that occurred when osteoclast activity exceeds osteoblast activity. Osteoprotegrin (OPG) considered as novel soluble decoy receptor known as “bone protector†since it prevents extreme bone resorption through inhibition of differentiation and activity of osteoclast by competing for binding site. It binds to receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) and prevent its interaction with receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (RANK), thus inhibits osteoclast formation. TNF-α is a pro-inflammatory cytokines having a broad range of important roles in regulation of immune system and bone resorption through the stimulation of osteoclastogenesis. Alendronate (ALN) diminishes the expression of osteoclast activating factors and cytokines such as RANKL and enhances the production of decoy receptor osteoprotegerin in osteoblast cells. Moreover, it decreases the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α by macrophage, stimulates apoptosis of monocyte-macrophage cell lines derivative and reduces inflammatory response. Aims of the Study: 1. To assess the effect of alendronate treatment on salivary levels of osteoprotegrin and TNF-α in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and periodontal disease 2. To find any possible correlation between salivary levels of osteoprotegrin and TNF-α in control and study groups. Materials and Methods: Total sample of 90 female subjects (55-65 years) were divided into 3 groups, (30 subjects in each group): first control group involved systemically healthy subjects with healthy periodontium, second group involved postmenopausal women with osteoporosis under alendronate treatment for(3-6)months (alendronate group), third group involved postmenopausal women with osteoporosis without alendronate treatment(osteoporosis group). The last two groups were sub- divided in- to two sub –groups (15 subjects in each sub-group) of gingivitis and periodontitis subjects respectively. Salivary samples were collected from all subjects and salivary levels of osteoprotegrin and TNF- α were determined by enzyme –linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Highest median value of salivary (OPG) was found in alendronate group followed by control group while the lowest value was found in osteoporosis group. Highest median value of TNF- α was found in osteoporosis group followed by control group and alendronate group respectively with highly significant differences between them. Spearman correlation between salivary levels of TNF-α and OPG showed non- significant correlation at all subgroups. Conclusion: Subjects with osteoporosis in this study had greater levels of TNF-α and decrease in the level of OPG comparing with patients under alendronate treatment. Alendronate treatment for women with osteoporosis and periodontal disease may have beneficial outcome.
Zinc sulfide(ZnS) thin films of different thickness were deposited on corning glass with the substrate kept at room temperature and high vacuum using thermal evaporation technique.the film properties investigated include their absorbance/transmittance/reflectance spectra,band gap,refractive index,extinction coefficient,complex dielectric constant and thickness.The films were found to exhibt high transmittance(59-98%) ,low absorbance and low reflectance in the visible/near infrared region up to 900 nm..However, the absorbance of the films were found to be high in the ultra violet region with peak around 360 nm.The thickness(using optical interference fringes method) of various films thichness(100,200,300,and 400) nm.The band gap meas
... Show MoreMoisture induced damage can cause a progressive deterioration in the performance of asphalt pavement by the loss of adhesion between asphalt binder and aggregate surface and/or loss of cohesion within the binder in the presence of water. The objective of this paper is to improve the asphalt mixtures resistance to moisture by using hydrated lime as an anti-stripping additive. For this purpose, two types of asphalt binder were utilized; asphalt grades (40-50) and (60-70) with one type of aggregate of 19.0 mm aggregate nominal maximum size, and limestone dust as a mineral filler. Marshall method was adopted to find the optimum asphalt content. Essentially, two parameters were determined to evaluate the moisture susceptibili
... Show MoreThis study investigates the ionic conduction dependence on the size of alkaline cations in gel polymer electrolytes based on double iodide can enhance by incorporating a salt having a bulky cation.
... Show More The ceramics specimens as superconducting phase (Bi2PbxSr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ) with different concentrations of Pb from (0.0-0.5) were prepared by solid-state reaction method. Superconducting samples were exposed to high humidity (RH 75% at 25ºC) for seven weeks time interval. The humidity has a negative effect on the transition temperature of superconductor phase .It destroys the superconducting phase and the samples were converting to insulator.
Construction joints are stopping places in the process of placing concrete, and they are required because in many structures it is impractical to place concrete in one continuous operation. The amount of concrete that can be placed at one time is governed by the batching and mixing capacity and by the strength of the formwork. A good construction joint should provide adequate flexural and shear continuity through the interface.
In this study, the effect of location of construction joints on the performance of reinforced concrete structural elements is experimentally investigated.
Nineteen beam specimens with dimensions of 200×200×950 mm were tested. The variables investigated are the location of the construction joints
... Show MoreThe filler in the asphalt mixture is essential since it plays a significant role in toughening and stiffening the asphalt. Changes in filler type can lead the asphalt mixtures to perform satisfactorily during their design life or degrade rapidly when traffic and environmental effects are considered. This study aims to assess the impact of filler types such as limestone dust (LS) and hydrated lime (HL) on Marshall characteristics and moisture damage in asphalt mixtures. Three different percentages of HL were employed in this study to partially replace the LS mineral filler: 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5% by aggregate weight. Furthermore, a control mixture was created with 7% LS by overall aggregate weight for the wearing course layer. The Marsha
... Show MoreDBN Rashid, International Journal of Development in Social Sciences and Humanities, 2020
Abstract: This paper presents the results of the structural and optical analysis of CdS thin films prepared by Spray of Pyrolysis (SP) technique. The deposited CdS films were characterized using spectrophotometer and the effect of Sulfide on the structural properties of the films was investigated through the analysis of X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD). The growth of crystal became stronger and more oriented as seen in the X-ray diffraction pattern. The studying of X-ray diffraction showed that; all the films have the hexagonal structure with lattice constants a=b=4.1358 and c=6.7156A°, the crystallite size of the CdS thin films increases and strain (ε) as well as the dislocation density (δ) decreases. Also, the optical properties of the
... Show MoreIn this work, HgBa2CaCu2-xSbxO8+δ compounds with (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8) have been prepared by the solid-state reaction method. Structural, morphological, and electrical properties were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques. Using the 4-probe technique to study the effect of antimony-substitution for Copper on the electrical properties of HgBa2CaCu2-xSbxO8+δ (Hg-1212) phase was investigated by measuring the resistivity as a function of temperature. Results indicate that the addition of antimony (Sb) increases the volume fraction of the phase and changes the superconducting transition temperature Tc of the superconductor to a normal state. The dielectric loss factor and ac
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